By Holly Stuart Hughes

A European photographer who was arrested in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday was not subjected to violence, but says, "other colleagues have not had such good luck." Speaking to PDN by phone Wednesday night, the photographer says other journalists described being beaten and having their cameras and memory cards destroyed.

For safety reasons PDN agreed to withhold details that could identify the photographer, who remains in Iran. The photographer has traveled to Iran several times to work on magazine stories and picked up several assignments this week as protests raged. Here are excerpts from our phone interview:

Q: How dangerous is it in Tehran now?

A: Before the election, things were incredible. You'd have pro-Mousavi supporters and pro-Ahmadinejad supporters on the same street not even two meters apart screaming their slogans and absolutely no violence. Very moving. It was something I could not imagine in Europe.

When the results of the election came, it was such a surprise—to both sides. The first episodes of violence happened the night of the elections, Friday night. That's when things started changing. Saturday and Sunday the first spontaneous rallies took place. Afterwards, that's when the riot police intervened. Everyone was astonished because the clampdown was quite hard.

Q: How did they clamp down?

A: You'd have the rally coming down the street, and riot police would be closing the street at the end. They would charge the crowd once or twice, but at first they would use only batons and sticks. This would go on for an hour, then a different kind of police would appear, one many people here have never seen before. They were basically dressed like Robocop. These guys were a lot more violent. They were on motorbikes and they just charged through the crowd, and dispersed it. The crowd regroups, maybe in a small alley, and comes back and starts throwing stones.

The pattern now is you have a peaceful rally, where the police stay on the side and let it go. Then in the evening when the people start dispersing, and they're in their cars and honking their horn, in some areas a small riot starts. [The paramilitary] is no longer charging at the main rally, it's breaking up smaller groups.

Q: Here in the west we're seeing images posted on the Internet or sent via Twitter. Are you seeing many people shooting images or video at these rallies?

A: This is really amazing. Everybody is participating in the rallies but at the same time they are witnesses for the rest of the world. Everyone has a cell phone, everyone is recording or photographing.

Iran is one of the most modern countries in this part of the world. You can find everything, technology-wise, you would find in the west.

It's amazing how quickly things move around in Tehran. The official Web site of the Mousavi campaign has been shut down, so people just call each other or share taxis and tell each other:  This is where the rally will be today. I get called every morning and told it's here or here.

Q: Your cell phone service was down today. 

A: Cell phone service is very punctual. When rallies begin, it goes down. You know the time of the prayer in Iran because you hear the muezzin calling you to prayer and you know when the time of the rally because your cell phone goes down. 

Q: How did you get arrested on Tuesday?

A: Mousavi supporters had announced a big meeting at Vali As Square [June 16]. Instead, the government, in a show of force, staged a rally in that square. The reformers decided to regroup about 2 km north along the same street in a square called Vanak. We [the writer and I] went first where government forces were, and then we were on our motorbikes in this buffer zone between the two groups. Then three or four Basij-i [volunteer paramilitary] stopped us. They gave us over to the police, and that was the lucky thing, because things got resolved reasonably quickly. We were informed we were not allowed to report any more, and after about one hour we were released. There was no physical violence. Other colleagues have not had such good luck.

I got my camera back today. I went back to police headquarters this morning and signed a statement saying I will not cover illegal demonstrations. But today obviously that's not possible.

Q: Have you talked to journalists who have been unlucky?

A: [The writer] was doing something for TV on the roof of the Iranian TV, and there were many colleagues there. Some guys from French TV got their cameras smashed. I met a journalist for the Globe and Mail in Toronto who told me he had been beaten.

[A person at a government office] told me that we had been quite lucky and other journalists have not had such luck. They have not gotten their materials back.

There are not many foreign journalists left. Visas are running out, and people are leaving.

[Editor's Note: Toronto Globe and Mail freelancer George McLeod wrote about his experience being detained and beaten in Tehran online here.]

Q: Do you have any idea what might happen after you and other foreign media leave?

A: It could be nasty but at the same time there are some very good Iranian journalists who know better than us how to cope with the system, how to work within restrictions.

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